I have been busy this morning. I have some Basil growing hydroponically in a 'recycled' moisturiser tub. I cut a hole in the tub then insert a net pot containing the little Basil seedling which were germinated in coir pellets. The pellet was surrounded by clay balls in the net pot. Hydroponic nutrient is in the tub. They need regular checks, particularly when the plant is as big as it has got and the weather is warm. The jacket, although originally for insulation as I actually planned the idea for winter germination of seeds with warm water in the container, is very useful to block light hence algae growth.
There are two of these tubs, the 'before' photo showing one of them. I gave them a crop and almost filled an ice cream tub of the Basil for the freezer. They should now grow again as it is still early in the seasn. This small leaved Basil variety is very tasty
The fencing has just been ordered and its full steam ahead. Both neighbours are on board and happy to pitch in with costs.. On one side the new guy has even said he and his mate will help out so we can get the whole thing done in one weekend..!
Post by Popcorn&Candy on May 14, 2024 8:39:23 GMT -5
That view is gorgeous, a_muppet: I'd never get tired of looking at that view.
Your planting is highly skilled, jen: how did you learn your craft? Actually, in my apartment I have four flourishing plants. One is around one and a half metres tall. My dad helped me re-pot all my plants last year and they've grown and grown.
I do love plants: I could happily be surrounded by them all day.
While tending to my plants yesterday I gave the Basil another trim. I now have another ice cream tub full of Basil in the freezer. It really works well in the small hydroponic setup in moisturiser tubs although they do need checking daily as the nutrients are quickly consumed. I suspect that will be a problem, particularly with the larger pepper plants, if the weather gets really hot.
My leafy vegetables are starting to show problems foe the heat. Although the red lettuce seems to be doing fine. I will probably be taking that part of my hydroponics down shortly and putting it away until the fall.
Yesterday I planted out two of the hydroponically grown pepper plants that I had in the house, then in the greenhouse for the last few days, in planters in the garden. They were in the old moisturiser tubs but an obvious fact I have realised is that when the amount of nutrient gets low the lack of weight at the base with a largeish plant makes them very unstable. Such an arrangement works very well for plants like my Basil which is low growing and harvested when it gets any size but risky with my usual lack of space.
It will be interesting to see how they fare after having such a good early life.
My original intention was only to use these small pots for growing on seedlings anyway but they have been very useful.
I picked my first two peppers yesterday. They are sweet ones so no fear of burn. They were grown in the house - hydroponic tub on my workroom / study windowsill so are earlier than those outside and in the greenhouse.